Michael Hoge, PhD, Senior Science and Policy Advisor for the Annapolis Coalition, and Coalition Consultant Jessica Pollard, PhD, recently developed a set of workforce competencies and recommendations for workforce development in Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) for early psychosis. The work was requested by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and funded by SAMHSA.

The project involved interviewing experts in CSC to inform the work. Using findings from the interviews, the authors distilled a set of competencies and offered recommendations on recruitment, selection, training, supervision, and retention of CSC trainees and professionals. NASMHPD published the Issue Brief, titled “Workforce Development in Coordinated Specialty Care.”

The National Institute of Mental Health defines CSC as a “recovery-oriented treatment program for people with first episode psychosis (FEP). CSC promotes shared decision-making and uses a team of specialists who work with the client to create a personal treatment plan. The specialists offer psychotherapy, medication management geared to individuals with FEP, family education and support, case management, and or education. The client and the team work together to make treatment decisions, involving family members as much as possible. The goal is to link the individual with a CSC team as soon as possible after psychotic symptoms begin.”

The use of CSC in randomized clinical trials has resulted in reduced psychiatric hospitalizations, improvement in quality of life, and greater vocational engagement, according to Pollard, who serves as Clinical Director of the Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) Clinic at Yale. As more CSC programs are being established, there is a need for recruitment and training of more mental health professionals in the specialty.